Under the Mistletoe
by cls2256
Summary: Hermione finds herself trapped inside the Room of Requirement with Draco during her search for Christmas decorations. The Room is tired of their animosity, and traps them inside under mistletoe, insisting on keeping them there until they can 'kiss and make up'. As it turns out, she might just like the blonde Slytherin more than she thought she did.


Hermione's light footsteps pitter-pattered up the stairs as she raced to the 7th-floor corridor, clutching a note from Professor McGonagall tightly in her right hand.

_Miss Granger,_

_6th-year prefects are responsible for decorating their common rooms for the Christmas holiday. All of Gryffindor house's Christmas decorations are stowed in the Room of Requirement, which I believe you are quite familiar with. Please see to it that you and Mr. Weasley have completed this task by this Sunday morning, so that the students staying at Hogwarts over the holidays may get into the Christmas spirit._

_Sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall_

She had been swamped with tests and homework this entire week but figured she and Ron (and by extension, Harry) could get the common room sorted out Saturday evening, as to be completed before Professor McGonagall's requested time. Her plan was going to work out just fine— until Ron and Harry landed themselves in Saturday detention with Snape.

She was already perturbed with Ron— he was always found slobbering all over Lavender Brown every chance they got, groping her with the grace of a bull in a china shop as she would tangle her hands in his thick red hair. Hermione did what she could to pretend the two of them together didn't bother her, but with the stress of her end of fall term exam load— and now these Prefect holiday duties— Ron had gotten an earful from her before he hurried off to the dungeons with Harry close behind him. Undoubtedly, they must've thought that Snape's company would've been more pleasant than hers at that moment.

She reached the 7th floor, pacing back and forth three times before a large wooden door appeared before her. She grasped the iron knob and yanked the heavy door open, stepping inside the vast room littered with magical junk. She took a deep breath, everything was going to be fine; she didn't need Ron and Harry's help, she could get this taken care of on her own— once she found the decorations in this giant mess.

The door slammed behind her as she began searching for boxes of Christmas decorations, she hoping they would be labeled '_Gryffindor Common Room Christmas' _ or something of the sort.

"Who's there?"

A male voice cut through the room's silence like a knife. Hermione drew her wand and swore under her breath; she knew this voice. Draco Malfoy stepped into view, smirking at her as he leaned against a bookshelf.

"Ah, Granger— here to smear your mudblood filth in the Room of Requirement?

"Shut up, Malfoy— what are you doing here?" Hermione snapped

"None of your business," he said smugly "What are you doing in here?"

"None of your business," Hermione retorted. They stared at each other for a moment before Hermione let out a defeated sigh and broke her gaze. "Have you seen Gryffindor's Christmas boxes anywhere…?"

"Ah, Christmas decorations— I'm surprised you and Weaslebee didn't finish yours already. Pansy and I have had the Slytherin common room finished for days now."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's typical boasting. "Congrats Malfoy, now if you'll excuse me…" She went to move past Draco when her feet all of a sudden stuck to the floor, her legs unable to move.

"What the hell did you do?" she growled irritably

"I didn't do anything!" Draco snapped.

Draco began tugging at his own feet, stuck in place uncomfortably close to her. They both struggled in place for a moment before mistletoe bloomed suddenly overtop of their heads, glistening in the lamplight. They both stopped, eyeing the plant curiously.

"What the…" Draco muttered under his breath.

They were so close together that she could smell his faint woody—almost floral— cologne. She found this scent pleasant, but odd— she was fairly sure she had detected something just like it in the Amortentia potion during one of Slughorn's first potions lessons earlier that year. She shook off the thought— coincidence maybe. Yes. It had to be just a coincidence.

A piece of parchment materialized in Hermione's hand, words neatly scrolled across in shimmering garnet ink. She squinted as she read aloud;

**In the spirit of Christmas, let's not fight.**

**Until you can kiss and makeup, you won't move in the slight.**

"What is that supposed to mean?—" Draco sneered. "This bloody room is trapping us here?"

"You have got to be kidding me…" she looked up at the shimmering mistletoe again, "I think the room wants us to kiss under the mistletoe…"

"_WHAT_?" he shouted incredulously "I'm not kissing a _mudblood_!"

"And I'm not kissing prejudice _filth_ like you!" Hermione let out a frustrated grunt, crossing her arms.

"I'm calling the room's bluff." Draco said, "it can't keep us here very long. Let's wait it out."

" In _silence_ ," Hermione added haughtily.

It seemed like days had passed as she and Draco stood in silence, arms crossed as the mistletoe glistened above their heads. Hermione glanced at her watch— they had been standing here for 45 minutes, and the room had not released them.

"At this rate, the common room will never get decorated" Hermione groaned. "I'm going to be up all night…"

"Why isn't Weaslebee helping you?" Draco asked, "Too good to decorate the common room himself?"

"He's in detention with Snape tonight," Hermione said with an eye roll. "Did you really help Pansy with the common room then? Or did she do it all herself while you sat back and watched her?"

Draco smiled a guilty, sheepish smile— very unlike any expression she had ever seen him wear "yeah, she did most of it…" he admitted

"mhmm" Hermione hummed, raising a brow and smirking at him "just as I figured"

They were silent for another few minutes before another note materialized, this time in Draco's hand. He furrowed his brow, his mercury eyes narrowing as he read.

**Put aside your differences and swallow your pride.**

**To say that you hate her would mean that you lie.**

"What does it say?" Hermione asked

"Nothing," he said quickly "It's nothing."

"Malfoy! What does it say?"

"Nothing!"

"_MALFOY!"_ she ripped the note out of his hand, her eyes moving with the words on the parchment. "Is the room trying to tell you that you don't hate me?"

"How should I know?" He snapped "It doesn't know what it's talking about!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes "Why do you hate me?" she asked, "What did I directly do to you to get treated like dung for the last 6 years?"

"I—" Draco opened and closed his mouth a couple times before letting out a large sigh "The Malfoy name means something in this world. If word got out that a Malfoy was soft on Muggle-borns, it wouldn't go well for us…"

"Because your family are Death— wait… you just said Muggle-borns!"

"Yeah?" Draco said, looking vacant, "what's your point?"

"You said Muggle-borns, not Mudbloods," She said with a smug smile, "Is the big, tough prejudice just an act?"

"Oh, what does it matter what I call you, Granger!" he hissed "enough with this nonsense— ROOM! Hey Room! Let us go, we're not playing your stupid game!"

Draco struggled against his stuck feet as Hermione fought a small smile. They fell into silence again for the next couple minutes, waiting to see if the room would respond at all. It didn't. Hermione wished she knew what game the Room of Requirement was trying to play with them— she knew Hogwarts had many secrets, but she never expected a magical, shape-shifting room to indeed have a mind of its own.

"How did your exams go?" Hermione asked, cutting the silence.

"You want to talk about exams? " Draco asked incredulously, " Really? "

"What else are we doing?" Hermione rolled her eyes "we're stuck here, and I'm getting bored— how did your exams go?"

Draco let out a heavy sigh "Well… I am pretty certain I passed all of them with Outstandings; you?"

"Same here," she smiled "however, I could see Professor Snape giving me an Exceeds Expectations just to drive me bonkers."

Draco smirked, "He's not so bad most of the time; he just lacks people skills."

"I can tell," Hermione laughed "He's not exactly friendly, by any stretch of the imagination."

This time, the pause between them wasn't awkward, but as if they were two friends catching up between classes. They began small talk over their classes and teachers, both of them laughing over an essay assigned by Professor Binns over the holiday break. After another natural pause in the conversation, Hermione gave him a small smile, and then looked up at the still glittering plant above their heads.

"We've been here nearly four hours," she said, "maybe we should just do a quick kiss to get on out of here."

"What's the matter, sick of me already?" he said playfully

He seemed to have relaxed immensely around her; this side of Draco Malfoy was actually sort of nice to be around. Kind of... _endearing_. Hermione would've denied heavily when asked if she found the blonde Slytherin to be handsome, but she couldn't deny, especially after staring at him for this long, that she indeed found him attractive.

"If you remember, I have an entire common room to decorate before tomorrow morning," she said, "What do you say Malfoy, will you help me out here?"

Draco's pale cheeks turned a twinge of pink as he opened and closed his mouth a couple times before answering her.

"If you tell anyone about this, Granger, I swear…"

"Like hell I am telling anyone about this" She laughed "Trust me, this will go to my grave— on the count of three?"

He nodded, flushing even more as he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at his glued feet. Hermione found her own cheeks burning hot as she avoided looking at Draco's face, counting out loud.

"One, two, three!"

They closed their eyes and pressed their lips together. _Fireworks_! Hermione felt drawn into him; the spark she felt wasn't anticipated, but now with her lips against Draco's, she actually wanted to keep kissing him. After another few seconds, they broke apart, staring at each other as their feet were released from their bind. They continued to stare at one another; Hermione bit her lip as she wondered if Draco had felt the same spark she had. By the odd expression on his face, she thought— and sort of hoped— that he had as well.

Their lips crashed against one another's once more, snogging furiously as they tangled their hands into each other's hair. Draco pushed Hermione up against the bookshelf, fumbling with her shirt buttons as she grabbed at his belt. He pushed her skirt down; she kicked it aside as she tore off his shirt hurriedly. His fingers teased her slit, antagonizing her by brushing just next to her most sensitive spots, eliciting soft whimpers against his mouth. She couldn't believe how bad she actually wanted Draco— her desire was overtaking her, she needed him.

"Are you— sure you— want— this?" he asked between breaks in their snogging.

"Yes—" she squeaked, "please— yes!"

He lifted her up, allowing her slender legs to wrap around him as he pushed firmly inside her. Her cries filled the Room of Requirement as he took her against the bookshelf, the towering wood structure rattling with every thrust.

"That's it, come on…" Draco growled in her ear. "Come for me."

This set her over the edge, crying out loudly as her walls clamped down all around his cock as she dug her fingernails into his shoulder blades. Just a moment later, he finished with a grunt, pinning her tightly against the bookshelf as he spilled into her.

"Holy shit— that was…" she breathed

"—Amazing" he finished for her,

He set her down gently, placing a tender kiss on her forehead before stepping away. Hermione slid her skirt back on as she observed Draco fix his pants, admiring the way his arms flexed when he reached for items of his clothing.

"So… what were you doing in here when I arrived?" Hermione asked curiously as she buttoned up her shirt.

Draco stiffened mid-way through tying his tie, looking conflicted by this question. "Nothing— just working on something."

He became tense at the mention of his reasoning for being inside the Room of Requirement; as if he wasn't supposed to be doing whatever he had been doing in here. As she opened her mouth to question him, a glint out of the corner of Hermione's eye caught her attention and distracted her; three boxes labeled '_Gryffindor Christmas'_ seemed to appear out of nowhere— yet maybe had been there the entire time…

"The decorations!" she cried, "thank merlin!"

Draco's posture relaxed as Hermione ran to the boxes "Have fun decorating that shithole you guys call a common room" he teased

"Oh, because the Slytherin dungeon is better than Gryffindor tower?" she quipped playfully. "_Locomotor_!"

The boxes rose and levitated next to her, ready to follow her to the Gryffindor common room. As she reached the door and gripped the iron doorknob, Draco called back to her.

"Hermione?"

She turned to look at him, His smile was the warmest she'd ever seen from him— it made her stomach flip flop with butterflies. Her name sounded beautiful as he said it, and she wondered if this was the first time she had heard him call her by her first name.

"Merry Christmas"

She smiled back, giving him a small nod.

"Merry Christmas, Draco."


End file.
